"I think he was an extremely sad character," she said during a panel discussion of HBO's upcoming "The Girl," which recounts her troubled relationship with the director. "We are dealing with a brain here that was an unusual genius, and evil, and deviant, almost to the point of dangerous, because of the effect that he could have on people that were totally unsuspecting."

She was one of those people, she said.

Hedren, now a glowing 82, was a model in her early 30s when Hitchcock hired her for "The Birds." Although there were times of "delight and joy" as Hitchcock personally coached her on her acting, there were other times when he treated her horribly.

Those events form the spine of director Julian Jarrold's "The Girl," which will air in October and stars Sienna Miller as Hedren and Toby Jones as the master of suspense. Jarrold and his stars spoke at the Television Critics Association summer press tour...

Sounds interesting. I wonder if they ever made that biopic about famous German film maker Lenni Reifenstahl? It was in the works at some point.

I assisted a German filmmaker on a production concerning Riefenstahl a few years ago Indy: I asked to be removed from the project when the filmmaker in question wanted to tie South Africa in with the Holocaust.

Hitchcock was a weirdo. Made good movies-so did Lenni.Lennis politics-yes-she DID embrass Hitler-she tried to distance herself from Hitler AFTER Germany lost the war-who wouldnt? But she DID embrass nazism during Hitler's time in power-so f**k her.People like Anne Frank deserve our attention-not Lenni Reifenstal.Yeah=shes a good film maker-Hitler was a very good orator. Charles Manson was a very convincing guy too. The myth of Satan is attractive.Evil is sexy.

This reminds me of something author Michael Slade wrote about Hitchcock that I found really interesting. It's largely about the way his fetishes and frustrations are reflected in the way he used his leading ladies on film.

Quote

Slade was 13 when PSYCHO (1960) slashed across the screen. What a jolt! Psycho thrillers were changed forever. But as dark as the images were in the theater, the goings-on behind the camera were dark as well. Here's the story of the Hitchcock Syndrome.

Alfred Hitchcock was a tubby man who seethed with sexual frustration. He looked nothing like his leading men: Gregory Peck, Cary Grant, James Stewart. His role as director, however, allowed him to deify and fetishize his leading ladies. So he controlled every aspect, including their underwear.

Hitchcock was obsessed with ice queen blondes. Madeleine Carroll in THE 39 STEPS (1935). Ingrid Bergman in SPELLBOUND (1945). Grace Kelly in REAR WINDOW (1954). Doris Day in THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956). Vera Miles in THE WRONG MAN (1956). Kim Novak in VERTIGO (1958). Eva Marie Saint in NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959).

Though Hitch made them stars, one by one the women spurned him for other men. Bergman left for Italy to live with Rossellini. Kelly left to marry the Prince of Monaco. Vera Miles got pregnant before VERTIGO. Hitch clashed with Kim Novak, her replacement. When Audrey Hepburn - though not a blonde - backed out on the director and NO BAIL FOR THE JUDGE, his frustration exploded. From then on, blondes would not be idolized in Hitchcock films. They'd be torn apart.

The shower scene in PSYCHO is rape with a knife. But at least it's fantasy. What Hitchcock did to Tippi Hedren in THE BIRDS (1963) was worse. The final avian attack saw her trapped in a room full of ravens, gulls, and crows tied to her with elastic bands. For days, the birds were thrown at her, and one almost pecked out her eye. Hedren suffered a breakdown. Rumor was Hitchcock shot the last day with no film in the camera.

Evan Hunter (Ed McBain) scripted THE BIRDS. He fell out with Hitchcock over the rape scene in MARNIE (1964). The strangulation-rape in FRENZY (1972) shows Hitchcock unrestrained.

This was taken from Slade's website, specialx.net, from an article about the various inspirations for his novel, Death's Door. I remember the book discussing this in a little more detail.